Nigerian police deny church attacks as residents insist 168 people are held by armed groups

KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) - Nigerian police denied reports of simultaneous church attacks in northwestern Kaduna state over the weekend, even as residents shared accounts of kidnappings at the churches in interviews Tuesday.

A state lawmaker, Usman Danlami Stingo, told The Associated Press on Monday that 177 people were abducted by an armed group Sunday. Eleven escaped and 168 are still missing, according to the lawmaker and residents interviewed by AP.

Kaduna State Police Commissioner Muhammad Rabiu described news reports of the attacks as rumors, saying the police visited one of the three churches in the district of Kajuru and "there was no evidence of the attack."

It is common for police and locals to have contradicting accounts of attacks in Nigeria's hard-hit villages.

"I am one of the people who escaped from the bandits. We all saw it happen, and anyone who says it didn't happen is lying," said Ishaku Dan'azumi, the village head of Kurmin Wali.

Nigeria is struggling with several armed groups that launch attacks across the country, including Boko Haram and ISWAP, which are religiously motivated, and other amorphous groups commonly called "bandits."

A Kaduna-based Christian group, the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria, said in a press release that security operatives did not allow its members to visit the sites of the attacks.

"The military officer who stopped the CSWN car said there was a standing order not to allow us in," Reuben Buhari, the group's spokesperson, said.

The Chikun/Kajuru Active Citizens Congress, a local advocacy group, published a list of the hostages. The list could not be independently verified by the AP. Police did not respond to a request for questions on the list.

The Christian Association of Nigeria also verified the attacks and has a list of the hostages, according to a senior Christian leader in the state who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of his safety.

"This happened, and our job is to help them. These people came, attacked and picked people from churches," he said. "But I think they prefer to play the politics of denying, and I don't think that's what we want."

Attacks against religious worship centers are common in Nigeria's conflict-battered north. They are a part of the country's complex security crisis that also affects schools, such as in November when hundreds of schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted in another part of Kaduna.

In the past few months, the West African nation has been in the crosshairs of the U.S. government, which has accused the Nigerian government of not protecting Christians in the country, leading to a diplomatic rift. The U.S launched an attack against an alleged Islamic State group members on Nigerian territory on Dec. 25, an operation the Nigerian government said it was aware of.

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Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria and Shibayan from Abuja, Nigeria.